Where Every Table is Popular
Relive high school as an adult at the cafeteria-esque Earl's Court
By Annie Lubin
The recent food court trend that has begun to creep up on the radars of hungry, working-class New Yorkers has been met with equal parts fanfare and derision. On the one hand, food-court-style eateries serve a major function for the busy batch of workers with a laughable lunch hour who want to eat quickly, cheaply and in a place with enough options to satisfy not only their cravings but those of their picky coworkers as well.
On the other hand, there's something about feeling like you're sitting in a suburban mall food court or airport restaurant that is disturbing to the post-college crowd trying to get as far away as possible from any distant memories of the high school cafeteria.
But if you fall into the first category and happen to work in the Financial District, rejoice: The area has just gotten its very own food-court-style eatery.
Earl's Court, at 90 John St., is a modern, updated version of the cafeteria model with seven different food vendors: Earl of Sandwich, Billy's Bakery, the Original SoupMan, Greens, Sushi Express, Lavazza and ShakeBar-which is either a dream for the picky eater or a nightmare for the indecisive.
The food itself, though nothing spectacular, is very reasonably priced at $5.99 for a sandwich, $6.49 for a salad and $3.49 for soup. And even though the food is your standard, decent-tasting lunchtime fare, you'll probably find yourself going to Earl's Court sometime in the near future-if not for the convenience, then for the ample choices. Because, honestly, what do most people want out of a lunchtime food place? To get their food fast, for it to taste OK and to not have to look at said food and think to themselves, Two hours of my workday wages were required to pay for this meal.
The inside of Earl's Court is bright, sleek and spacious, with a long connected row of barstools lining the outer edges of the space and separate tables with barstools through the middle of the space, offering the option to people watch through the windows or converse with coworkers.
The food court flow of the joint is a bit confusing-there are separate ordering lines for each vendor and another line for payment and pick up-but it's nothing a person who is around complicated financial models all day can't figure out. The space also plays host to an after-work bar, Libations, which begins serving cocktails at 5 p.m. The Libations side of the space resembles an urban or rooftop garden, with picnic-style tables surrounded by trees aglow with LED Christmas lights. Cocktails cost $8?$10 and beer is $6.
If you're a foodie or are lucky enough to be spoiled with an actual 60-minute lunch hour, Earl's Court might not be your premier destination. But with the ever-dwindling lunch hour and the usual mass stampede toward eateries in the area that occurs when the lunch bell strikes, fast eateries like Earl's Court will continue to be a welcome sight.